In the geological exploration, mining and construction industries, among others, drill bits 10, an example of which is shown in FIG. 1, are used to drill through rock, concrete and other materials. Typically, as seen in FIG. 1, the drill bit 10 includes a body section 12 and a crown section 14 extending substantially longitudinally from the body section 12. Slots 16 are formed into the crown section 14 and define drilling segments 18. The crown section 14 is the portion of the drill bit 10 that erodes the material through which a bore is drilled. The body section 12 and the crown section 14 define a central passageway 20 through which water (not shown in FIG. 1) is injected. The slots 16 allow water, generally represented by the arrows 24 in FIG. 2, and debris (not shown in the drawings) to flow out of the central passageway 20.
As seen in FIG. 2, water flows from the central passageway 20, through the slot 16, and returns outside of the body section 12. In some prior art drill bits, the crown section 14 extends over a relatively large distance away from the support member 12, and the slots 16 therefore extend substantially longitudinally over a relatively large distance. This may cause the water 24 to flow through the slot 16 without reaching a distal end surface 25 of the crown section 14. Therefore, in these embodiments, the capability of the water 24 to remove debris from the region at which the crown section 14 contacts rock or other material through which drilling is performed and to cool the crown section 14 is relatively reduced.
The flow of water 24 is typically useful in enhancing drilling efficiency and in preserving the integrity of the crown section 14. Therefore, to improve the durability of the crown section 14, it has been found that, in some embodiments of the invention, the water circulation properties of the water 24 are not optimal and need to be enhanced.
Against this background, there exists a need in the industry to provide an improved drill bit. An object of the present invention is therefore to provide an improved drill bit.